I have been lifting for a while. Now I just found out I have extremely high Blood pressure 170/110. I am 34 and I know I should not be taking it. I am 5’6 170 pounds. I know I have had BP issues for a long time now. Should I quit strength training and just do low intensity cardio from now on. I am on BP medicine now and I am waiting until it is under control to start working out again. I remember back in 1994 my BP was 150/100 and my doctor told me not to worry about it. I also am a very anxious person so that may be causing the BP issues. so what workouts should I do? should I just stay on the treadmill and have it at 3 miles per hour for 20 minutes a day? should I watch the weight lifting what should I do? I quit smoking 2 years ago to better myself by working out and this happens. I am discouraged to say the least. -Rick

What does Mr. Fass opine regarding using the Alexander technique for postural correction? and as a follow-up question, Why or why not should a person follow the teachings expressed therein the Alexander technique?Big fan of the show, I appreciate you taking the time in your busy schedules to answer my question(s) In good spirit, Jamie Lopez

Let me first say you guys are awesome, I’ve been a listener since about episode #20 and this has been a staple podcast ever since. Also the new guys are awesome and everyone continues to deliver in both fitness education and humor which makes for a great podcast.Alright now my rant (not necessary to read, but interesting). I’m a police academy cadet in Central California. I just took their nutrition overview, which I can only assume we will go over more extensively later. However a two day class, shows me that I will already have problems with their nutrition program. The good things are that eating was promoted (5 times a day), and healthy choices were encouraged. What I had problems with were the take on carbs and the downplay on fat and protein. They were the typical media garbage that you see everywhere. Carbs are king, and protein is secondary, all fat is the devil. He has put some people on a high carb, low protein, no-fat diet. Its fairly typical of a body builder diet with the bland baked potatoes and egg yolks. When I started answering questions based off my personal experience and knowledge, I was passed over and ignored. I asked him about healthy fats and he asked if I wanted to carry fat then proceeded to talk over me. Also he said it was okay to eat junk and fast food as long as they were in smaller portions, I could not believe he said that. My main problem is that police officers have the “fat” stereo type associated with them, and I’m beginning to see why. While I’m not in perfect shape I will continue my efforts to become leaner and lay waste to that stereo type.

For my question it must be stated that I am 26, 5’8, 177 lbs, and about 16-18% BF (using calipers, and comparisons with Leigh’s video). I carry a lot of my fat around my central regions. Background: 2.5 years ago I weighed 280 lbs and completely sedentary. Now, I lift at least three times a week and eat very clean around 1800 cal per day, with less than 60 g of carbs all from vegies, fruits, and nuts. I do not do well with carbs at all. I understand that I need to ramp up my cardio routines, but I’m curious what you guys think about a ketogenic diet for myself. My goal is to drop fat to meet my performance goals; endurance, strength, and performance (which are hard to gauge in an email). Also body comp is a goal that will come when I meet the rest.

Sorry for the long question. Thanks guys and gal for all your efforts to help. Have a great holiday season.

Kraig from central Cali

Hey guys,I did the Velocity Diet a couple of times over the last year and in doing so got to know flax quite well. Too well for my tastes. I like it for cooking breads and cake type things from time to time, but really don’t enjoy the flavour of it in shakes.

I ran across another seed called Chia that is supposed to have a great nutrient and macro profile too. I heard plenty of people say that it was in fact better than flax in a number of ways. Maybe you guys could check it out and comment?

I know this is starting to sound like a bit of a commercial, but I’ve incorporated it into my diet quite a bit. I like it sometimes in a crunchy form in yoghurt or cereal but usually if you leave it to soak a while it can be a bit like tapioca (do you get bubble tea in the US?) or something like that.

I thought you might just like to give a heads up to people about this as it was a bit of a revelation for me. In Australia I’ve bought the commercial version and it’s not cheap… however on eBay I’ve bought it in bulk and it is much cheaper that way. I’m sure it’ll be easier to get a hold of over there.

Cheers for a great show, it makes the train ride to and from work enjoyable!

Cya from ‘straya (it’s Australian for Australia) 🙂

Hey Kevin, I was wondering if you guys could do an episode on tea. I know green tea is all the rage, but what are the benefits of other kinds of tea? White, Black, Red, Oolong, etc. Also, what are the different types of green tea, and are certain kinds higher quality than others. Ive never really been a tea drinker, and I have recently started drinking 2-3 cups of green tea a day but I want to know what else I can do to get the most out of my tea drinking.Thanks